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Manouchehr Haghighat: Manouchehr is a dealer in Teheran, Iran. He enjoys traveling throughout Iran, especially southern Iran, and writing about the rugs produced in each area.
R. John Howe: The T-shirt in the first photo is my own design, a protest about folks asking you to do too much with too little. The back of it, of course, says "Straw into Gold." The second picture is of my "UN" costume. Japanese kimono, Afghan hat, pashmina sash from Jenny Housego's Kashmir production (the cheerful lady is Jenny herself). Some future anthropologist may notice that the sleeve of my black, turtle-necked, running shirt (which may have a "half-life" greater than the rocks) has a mysterious tag on it with the words "Duofold." The third photo is of me with my bride, Jo Ann, who is a former dog breeder and exhibitor, but who nowadays in an act of revenge for not being able to pursue this interest in a one-bed room condo in the city, collects almost anything that is a collie image or has one on it.
Here I am very contented in a rug shop in Antalya, Turkey in 2007. Why not? I had just bought a nice yellow-ground Konya rug fragment for a good price.
David Hunt: My wife Naima and the twins Adam and David all reside in a once small town of suburban Washington D.C. known as Frederick, Md., and of all places a suburb of Marrakech, Morroco- a bit of a commute but worth it!
Cevat Kanig: I've been a collector, restorer and dealer since 1978, and live in Virginia. Here I am with my sons, Nahit and Burak.
Bob Kent: A house with wood floors was my downfall.
Philippe Lavergne: Born 1947. Psychiatrist for children, senior consultant in a hospital near Paris. A little bit scientific. Interested in painting (to see, not to do), Japan (works of art and language), and too many things for time and seriousness. About carpets :natural dye maker from time to time, and principally turkomaniac. Here's a recent photo of me; another when I was 7 years old; one of my mother's family (the young one is my grandfather, a country tailor).
Stephen Louw: I live in Johannesburg, and collect Turkmen rugs and contemporary South African art. My wife Abigail thinks I am mad, and fears permanent bankruptcy. By profession, I am a political scientist, and teach at the University of the Witwatersrand. Currently I am working on a comparative study of rural South African and Indian local governance. My wife has no connection to India, and, to my horror, started humming "Rule Britannia" when we first went there on holiday.
Jaina Mishra: My interest in textile art began in India in the 90s when I started my career as an MBA grad in a top multinational. Just around then, there was an 'ethnic' revolution - when all the opinion leading women were rediscovering the diverse textile arts of India! I studied, bought and loved all my pieces, most of which are wearable but the phrase 'textile art' entered my vocabulary only a year ago. Twelve months, 14 rugs and several weaning attempts later - I concede that I am a rug addict.
My work is mainly about working on intellectual skills and I've set up a small outfit that I run in Singapore. Have 3 wonderful kids, a husband who pretends to have rug allergies, and a cat! And I love the work of Steve and Filiberto, to give us this space to share our passions!
Steve Price: I collect tribal arts and edit websites (Turkotek;Tribal Art Forum; VCU's Department of Physiology). In real life, Professor of Physiology at Virginia Commonwealth University. This photo was taken by the university public relations people for a display honoring employees with 40, 45, and 50 years of service. The display window looked like God's waiting room.
This is my son, Nate (the goalie), in 2007, with one of his friends. He's pretty well known to a lot of ruggies.
